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West Virginia State Symbols, Songs, and Emblems

For the latest symbols information, visit the NETSTATE CHRONICLE.

Designation Symbol / Emblem AdoptedList by adoption date

Sources...

The State of West Virginia. West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code. Charleston: The State of West Virginia, 2011. Web.
Shankle, George Earlie. State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols. Irvine, Calif.: Reprint Services Corp, Revised edition, 1971.
Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001.

Great seal Find out more... 1863
Flower Big laurel (Rhododendron maximum) 1903
Day West Virginia Day, June 20 1927
Flag Find out more... 1929
Song "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," by Julian G. Hearne, Jr. 1947
1963
Tree Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) 1949
Bird Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1949
Song "The West Virginia Hills," words and music by Ellen King and H.E. Engle 1961
1963
Centennial song
Song
"This is My West Virginia," by Iris Bell
"This is My West Virginia," by Iris Bell
1962
1963
Colors Old gold and blue 1963
Animal Black bear (Ursus americanus) 1973
Fish Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) 1973
Gem Chalcedony 1990
Butterfly Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) 1995
Fruit Apple (Malus Mill.)
Golden delicious apple (Malus Mill.)
1972
1995
Folk dance Folk dance 1986
Intertribal Tribe/Organization Appalachian American Indian Tribe/Organization 1996
1998
Soil Monongahela silt loam 1997
Insect Honeybee 2002
Steam locomotive Cass Scenic Railroad State Park's Shay No. 5 2004
Year-round professional theatre Greenbrier Valley Theatre 2006
Youth ballet River City Youth Ballet Ensemble 2007
Fossil Megalonyx jeffersonii 2008
Reptile Timber rattlesnake 2008
Tartan West Virginia shawl 2008
Rock Bituminous coal 2009
Firearm Hall flintlock model 1819 2013
Song "Take Me Home Country Roads," by John Denver, Taffy Nivert, and Bill Canoff 2014

Making laws in West Virginia

The West Virginia Legislature offers How a Bill Becomes Law to help us understand how laws are made in West Virginia.

For more information about West Virginia with a bit about the Legislature, young people can visit the legislature's Kid's Page. Information about the Legislature is provided as you scroll through a series of pages. It does not look like the Kid's Page receives much attention.

For older students and adults, the legislature offers a Citizen's Guide to the Legislature.

Additional Information

State Symbols: West Virginia State Legislature.

West Virginia Facts and Symbols
West Virginia
Facts and Symbols

Kathy Feeney

West Virginia Facts and Symbols, by Kathy Feeney. 24 pages. Publisher: Capstone Press; Rev Upd edition (August 2003) Reading level: Grades 3-4. Interest level: Grades 3-9. Perfect for report writing! Easy-to-read text covers major West Virginia symbols such as the state flag, seal, bird, tree, flower, animal, and more. A "Fast Facts" section highlights the state's capital city, largest city, physical size, population, natural resources, farm products, and primary manufactured goods. Also included are full-page maps that introduce the concept of the map key, which is great for teaching map-reading skills.

State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols
State Names, Seals
Flags and Symbols

Benjamin F. Shearer
Barbara S. Shearer

State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols, by Benjamin F. Shearer, Barbara S. Shearer. 544 pages. Greenwood Press; 3 Sub edition (October 30, 2001) This is one of the best, and most comprehensive, books we could find about the official state names and nicknames, mottoes, seals, flags, capitols, flowers, trees, birds, songs, and miscellaneous designations of each state. This, coupled with the 1938 Shankle book, formed the basis of our symbol library. If you're serious about your states symbols, you'll want to have this book and the one below. This book also contains information about state holidays, license plates, sports teams, universities and other trivia.

State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols, by George Earlie Shankle. 522 pages. Reprint Services Corp; Revised edition (June 1971) Reprint of the 1938 revised edition. The first comprehensive book about our state symbols! From the preface: "This book grew out of the desire of its author to know, about his native state, a great many facts which he found exceedingly difficult to obtain. After three years of research in the Library of Congress, he is able to give to the public this storehouse of information, which could have been gathered from not library less fertile in source material..."

Visit the NETSTATE West Virginia State Book Store for additional West Virginia related books, including West Virginia Reference Books, History, Biographies and Cookbooks.

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